Candy corn. The words alone typically spark a big reaction either positive or negative, but the story goes deeper than that. While the candy industry is flourishing, candy corn is lagging. So what would it take to help candy corn make a comeback? In this one the gang goes deep on candy corn and the candy industry as a whole. It's a subject near and dear to a whole bunch of us. Check it out!
Tupperware. Some people remember it as THE reusable storage brand...others simply know it as a name for reusable storage but didn't know it was an actual company. But recently, the company has been given new life with outside investment. In this episode, Romain, Biz, and Simon dig into how they could make Tupperware bigger than ever again. It's a fun one where our ages really kinda sorta show.
Everyone says dating has never been easier...apps, algorithms, endless choice. But if that’s true, why does it feel so hard, so awkward, so… miserable? In this episode, Jesse and Romain dig into the modern dating paradox with guest Sarah Jenkins, Head of Creative Brand Initiatives at Grindr. From swipe fatigue to the illusion of abundance, to what love even means when everything is optimized, we ask: is dating broken, or are we?
I scream, you scream we all scream for ice cream...well we used to scream a lot more. It turns out ice cream has actually been on the decline for a while, peaking in the 2000s before beginning its steady drop for the last two decades. How can that be? Is it societal? Is it competition from other sweet treats? Changing tastes? In this episode the gang gets into how to start the great ice cream resurgence. This is a fun one. Don't get brain freeze while listening. Check it out!
Small talk might seem like, well, a small thing but did you know that small talk has been proven to boost mood, make people more receptive to outside opinions and change people's perception of the world? It's all true! So what if small talk was actually the tiny, little secret to helping us get back to a more cohesive, happy society? In this episode the crew breaks down how to bring small talk back, how it could be made more easy, more fun and more enjoyable. It's a big chat about small talk...We couldn't help ourselves with that last one. Check it out!
Humans are a paradox. A collection of wants and needs that run directly into each other and make no sense. In this episode we dive directly into one of those paradoxes. While most of us want for nice things, we also often want to be seen as unpretentious and unbothered. Why is that? is it because we're worried as being a person who likes nice things and what it says about us? Is it something deeper? Something more shallow? It's a big one as the gang tries to dive deep on figuring out the weird societal boundaries around liking and wanting nice things. Check it out!
Tennis is in an interesting situation. For all intents and purposes the sport itself is doing well. People continue to play it and engage with its biggest tournaments. But when you look a level deeper there's the whiff of an existential threat thanks to the growth velocity of pickleball. While tennis is growing, pickleball is exploding. Now tennis players are seeing their courts get swallowed up and replaced with pickleball courts, entire generations usually more enticed to play tennis are being swayed towards pickleball. So the question is, where does tennis go from here? In this episode Romain, Jesse, Simon and friend of the pod Biz try to first identify the problem then figure out the best approach. Check it out!
The Algorithmic Aesthetic. It's a thing that has gone beyond your social feed to inform just about everything. The long and short of it is that in a world where content is optimized for an algorithm, eventually everything starts to look like what would work best for the algorithm. It sounds like science fiction but we're in the middle of living it. In this episode Simon and Jesse are joined by Chris McPherson to discuss the issue and potential ways to help bring a little more variety to the world. Check it out!
Only 30% of families eat dinner together, 46% of all U.S. meals are eaten alone. Besides just being a little sad, there are bigger reasons why this is a problem. Communal eating has massive positive effects from dietary to emotional. In fact it is just as predictive of life satisfaction as things like job status or income. So what's stopping us from breaking bread together and how do we fix it? Give it a listen and find out.
When you think of Miami do you think of South Beach, cruises and cocaine or do you think about a growing and dynamic business capital with an enticing lifestyle for just about anyone and any interest? Well if you thought more of the former you're not alone. In this episode Romain pounds the table for one of his favorite American cities and helping to reflect the truth of the city and fight back the stereotypes. Did we pull it off? It really comes together in the last few minutes, but you tell us!
Most people don't see the doctor enough. Both when they DEFINITELY SHOULD and when they have their scheduled annual check ups and such. Sooooo why is that? Is it fear of bad news? Is it the experience itself? Is it how much of a chore it has become? Those are all fair reasons. In this episode Romain, Jesse and Simon get into trying to make the act of going to see the doctor more enticing. Did they crack it? Give it a listen and let us know!
Once upon a time, phone calls were spontaneous, joyful, and the heartbeat of our social lives. Now? They’re either scheduled like a dentist appointment or dodged entirely. In this episode, Jesse, Romain, and special guest Dany Lennon dig into the disappearance of meaningful, impromptu conversations. From the slow death of the dinner table chat to why “Can I call you?” has become a mandatory pre-call ritual, they explore the generational shifts, tech habits, and work exhaustion that are killing curiosity, and why it matters more than ever to bring real conversations back. Is there a way to make voice-to-voice connection feel exciting again? Let's find out!
Only 1 in 10 adults eat the amount of veggies they're supposed to. And over the last decade vegetable consumption keeps dropping. So what's the deal? In this episode the group comes together to try and get the world to start eating more vegetables. It's a good one filled with rational arguments as well as irrational ones to convince people to start eating more veggies. Check it out!
In this episode the team sits down to discuss the future of college education and the value of a degree. There's no denying what college is capable of doing for people, but the disillusionment around it is real and valid. What is its role? What is the goal? And how the heck do you offer something worth the eye watering cost? Check it out and join in on the convo!
Simon loves a great market opportunity, and in this episode he thinks he found one. There's an activity that half of the U.S. participates in, continues to rise in popularity, and yet as a spectator event is still a niche pay-per-view play with no household names or mainstream attention. What is it? Give it a listen and tell us if you think Simon is crazy for believing in its future.
In-person retail has taken a beating recently. When you have the convenience of online shopping then the haymaker of the Covid shutdown, it's no surprise it ain't doing as well as it used to. But maybe there's a massive opportunity being missed here. On this episode Yann Caloghiris, Executive Director of Left Field Labs joins us to talk about the present and future of retail and how we could make it not just what it was, but imagine completely new possibilities for what it could become. Check it out!
This probably won't shock anyone but it turns out the natural world is incredibly good for us. Even just a walk around your block, breathing some fresh air and getting some sun has proven positive effects on our well-being. So in a world where it's getting easier and easier to do less and less, sit still and stay entertained, how do we get people back outside again? Check it out!
Only 48% of Americans can answer basic financial literacy questions. 43% of Americans don't know what a 401k is. It probably comes as no surprise this leads to serious financial problems down the road. Financial illiteracy costs Americans over $1,000 a year, and a staggering total of 243 billion. So why is money so hard to understand? Is it a system built to intentionally confuse? Is it a topic that falls on deaf ears? Are we talking about finance totally wrong? In this episode the gang goes wide trying to pin down how to help people not just understand money better, but WANT to understand money better. Check it out!
Chances are you don't use all your vacation time. It could be fear of looking like a slacker, being "too busy" or just wanting to feel valued. But did you know that taking a vacation actually HELPS you get ahead in your career? The positive effects of some vacation go well beyond that but in the U.S. the rise and grind mentality often hinders us from doing the very thing that can actually help our professional prospects. In this episode the gang discusses why it's so hard to get people to take their vacation. Did they crack getting people to do it? You tell us!
On this episode Jen Costello, the Global Chief Strategy Officer at TBWA Worldwide joins the gang to talk about Play. While most people assume it's the thing of children, the effects of play on people aged 1 to 100 are incredible. Not only is it incredibly healthy, but it also helps with imagination, problem solving and a host of other benefits. But as we get older, we do it less and less. In fact by the time we hit adulthood most of us barely do it at all. The group goes deep on to how to get people out of their shell and out playing more. Give it a listen!
